Lincoln Elementary School wants the 12-year-old to follow its dress code.

But the two sides are apart - by a mere half-inch. Yet, it's enough for the school to warn the girl to ditch the offending shorts or risk discipline. And that's enough to make her parents think the school is too persnickety in enforcing a new policy that could be more disruptive than an extra half-inch of sixth-grade skin.

"I would never let my kids walk out of the house dressed provocatively," says her father, Chris Martin.

This sort of warm-weather warfare repeats itself every fall and spring throughout central Illinois. When clothes get lighter, teachers and administrators get more watchful. Meantime, Morton School District 709 says it's just trying to apply the dress code as fairly and easily as possible.

Until last year, District 709 had dress codes that varied by age. For instance, in high school, shorts had to be no more than 4 inches above the top of the knee cap. But for elementary students, the standard was that their shorts could be no shorter than the ends of their fingertips.

"But that gets arbitrary, because you have students with long arms and short arms," says Superintendent Roger Kilpatrick.

So, for this school year, the district changed the policy for all students, regardless of age: Shorts must be no farther than 4 inches above the kneecap. Of course, that's arbitrary, too - because human bodies aren't standard issue.

And that's the conundrum with Hannah Martin. At 5 feet 4 inches, she's a little taller than most sixth-grade girls at Lincoln, a K-6 school. Further, says mother Sara Martin, her build comes into play: "She has curves."

Now, we're talking about two areas I know little about: fashion and females. But, as her mother explains, the extra height and curves makes it hard to find fashionable shorts that fit Hannah that don't pull up past the 4-inch line. They say they've looked all over, and the only shorts available are the Bermuda type - which, apparently, are a fashion no-no, as denim is the rage in 'tween circles.

Further, Hannah isn't the only classmate with this problem, her parents says. Other tall girls find that denim shorts dance on the 4-inch borderline. And Hannah's fall just short.

Thursday, a teacher told Hannah that her shorts looked to be in violation of the dress code. To prove the point, the teacher called her to her desk, pulled out a tape measure and checked the shorts-to-kneecap ratio: 4 1/2 inches.

Hannah, thinking with the ingenuity of a budding teenager, offered to stretch the bottoms of the shorts down just a bit. The teacher - who could've ordered the girl to go home to change - instead told her not to wear those shorts anymore.

Later that day, another staffer noticed the same shortage with Hannah's shorts. That's some impressive on-staff eyesight.

Regardless, her father wonders if this is much ado about nothing

"When we go this far over a half-inch, that's a fine line," he says. "Measuring her shorts in the middle of the day - that's more disruptive to learning than the shorts."

On one hand, it's hard to see where a K-6 school would become overwhelmed with leering or other trouble because of half-inch violation. Then again, parents in other districts might wish they had rules as strict across the board as 709's.

"I think any time you have a dress code, you have these kinds of issues," says Superintendent Kilpatrick. "Is there an issue with fashion and finding clothes that fit? Yes. But they're available."

Maybe Lincoln could get innovative and offer a class in custom-fashion design: kids make their own school-sanctioned clothes.

Or, Chris Martin has another idea: "Maybe we should go to uniforms, so we all know exactly what they can wear."

PHIL LUCIANO is a columnist with the Journal Star. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, facebook.com/philluciano, 686-3155 or (800) 225-5757, Ext. 3155. Follow him on Twitter @LucianoPhil.

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